A Troubling Culmination (1)

Demian opened his eyes with a start. The first thing he noticed was the warm body snuggling up to him. Remi was curled up against his side, one arm thrown over his chest while his face nuzzled Demian's neck.

Demian's heart stopped before beating in double time and his blood ran warm. Why was Remi so close? He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.

If he recalled correctly, the night grew chilly so they decided to push the mats together and throw both blankets over top. But that still didn't explain why Remi was sleeping on top of him.

He leaned up onto his elbows without disturbing the sleeping Remi. From this angle, Demian was able to breathe in Remi's scent better, both his natural smell and the scent of the homemade soap he had made using wild plants and berries. He brought a hand up and ran it through Remi's hair gently, finding it soft to the touch.

Why did he always find himself hanging around Lady Ophelia Rosewood when he was undeniably drawn to Remi Sato? He not only found the man physically attractive but also his inner self, or at least the parts that Remi had willingly exposed to him. And Demian loved that cocky smirk he wore when he talked about plant life.

Remi stirred, snuggling in closer. His face moved in just the right way that his lips touched Demian's bare skin. Bare?!

Right. Even though it was chilly, he took off his shirt in the middle of the night because he was afraid Remi would find the smell displeasing.

Remi's eyes blinked open. He peered up at Demian with a dazed, contented look. Demian couldn't help the smile that came over him. "Good morning."

"Mor-" before Remi could even finish his sentence, a shudder ran through both of them as a great wave of magic flooded the area. Just as quickly as it had come, it disappeared.

Remi jumped up with wide eyes. "Shit! I didn't know it was going to appear this early!" Appear? What had appeared and what was Remi talking about?

Remi ran out of the tent after grabbing his discarded dagger. Demian quickly pulled on his shirt and grabbed his weapon before following the panicking Remi. Ronni and Brendon were exiting their tent wearing matching expressions of apprehensive worry.

A shadow fell across the small clearing, blocking out the early morning light. All four of them looked up simultaneously. A large silver body of around three meters with a wing span of four was flying over them. Demian felt his blood turn to ice as his mouth dropped open in an undignified manner.

"Is that a dragon!" Brendon screeched.

Remi shook his head, his gaze focused somewhere deeper in the forest. "A wyvern. It's smaller than a dragon and has a lower mana capacity. It's also not as mentally developed."

"Close enough!" Brandon's breathing was rapid and his hands were twitching. He wanted to run but had nowhere to go.

"Let's teleport back. We need to let the knights know," Ronni was the voice of reason. He turned back to his tent, his long black swaying with his rapid movements. He came back out of the tent with the small red orb that the mage had given them just the day before. He held it out for everyone to touch.

Remi placed his hand in last. His eyes flicked back to where the wyvern had disappeared to. Demian was starting to worry that the beta was going to do something crazy.

"Redi-!" Remi removed his hand just as Ronni voiced out the first half of the word to activate the stone. "-tus!" Demian removed his hand just before the red light enveloped him.

"What did you do?!" Remi shouted when he saw that Demian had not teleported with the others.

"It looked like you were about to do something crazy," he flashed a grin that hid how utterly terrified he was at the moment. "I couldn't let you do it alone."

"Me?! You're the one that did something stupid! Don't you know how dangerous this is?!" Remi's voice rose with his distress.

Demian's eyes widened at Remi's outburst. The corner of his lips hooked up and his nerves calmed down. Something about seeing Remi scared on his behalf calmed him down.

"Stop smiling," Remi growled. "A wyvern isn't something to smile about."

"It isn't," Demian readily agreed. He walked until he stood in front of Remi and tipped the beta's head back with his hand on his chin. "We'll both be fine. I'm stronger than I look." Demian was laying bare a part of his soul in those words as he spoke the truth. He was, in fact, a lot stronger than he looked, especially without his inhibitor.

Remi looked up at him with water eyes, face pale, and chapped lips slightly parted. He gulped, and the Adam's apple at his throat bobbed. Demian had the sudden urge to bite down on it but held himself back. It wasn't the time yet, not when he had yet to figure out what was going on with him and his heart.

Remi blinked, his long lashes casting dark shadows on his cheeks. "Fine, but don't do anything reckless."

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

* * * *

Dane had just come back to the camp with a few birds he had caught. He de-feathered the animals and got them ready to be cooked.

Shana came out of her tent, suppressing a yawn. "That girl kicks in her sleep," she grumbled in annoyance, bags underneath her eyes.

Dane hummed nonchalantly. He felt no animosity towards the girl though he was still wary of her. Last night, he had completed his liege's mission and checked her belongings while she was asleep. He wanted to check Ophelia's as well but didn't get the chance when the girl started to wake up.

Markus came out of the tent that he and Dane had shared. "Smells good," he praised as he sniffed the air, his stomach letting out a low grumble.

Dane handed him one of the cooked birds still tied to a stick. He then handed one to Shana.

"Shall we wake Ophelia up?" Markus questioned, trying to take a bite of the hot meal.

Shana snorted. "She should be good to go with all the sleep she got last night."

Dane didn't know what to say so he was going to grunt a reply but never got the chance. An intense wave of dense mana pulsated in the air, drawing closer to them. He dropped his breakfast and grabbed the dagger at his belt loop and drew his magic forth, preparing for the incoming threat.

Shana and Markus both dropped their food and turned deathly pale.

"Grab Ophelia," Dane told them through gritted teeth, finding it hard to fight off his instincts to run.

Shana was the first one to shake herself out of her terrified state. She rushed back into the tent and grabbed Ophelia. Markus ran to her side and helped her in her struggle with carrying the still-sleeping girl.

Dane shoved his hand into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out the Warping Orb. He pulled the small red orb out and readied his dagger. He poured his magic out and into the dagger. Black sapphire buried deep in the earth broke free and wrapped around the dagger, extending it into a long, curved sword.

Just before the others reached him, a large shadow fell over top of them, blocking out the morning sun. The shadow grew larger and larger. Demian looked up and felt his blood freeze. Flying above them was an adult wyvern.

The wyvern dropped down into the small clearing with a ground-shaking thud. Shana and Markus stumbled, dropping Ophelia on the dewy ground.

Ophelia woke up with a start, ready to holler at whoever was disturbing her rest. The first thing she saw was that she was outside on the ground, the second thing she saw was the massive creature. She screamed at the top of her lungs while she scrambled to stand.

Dane slowly backed away from the wyvern, trying to get closer to the others, his sword drawn and at the ready. His eyes never left the beast who had its teeth bared and talons drawn.

The wyvern spread out its wings and growled, scraping its front paws against the ground.

Something hard slammed into Dane. He steadied himself to keep from falling while not removing his eyes from the wyvern who had yet to attack. The object that had slammed into him removed themselves from him along with the orb that had been in his free hand.

Startled, Dane looked down and found Ophelia there, the Warping Orb in her hands. Shana and Markus rushed over while keeping their eyes on the wyvern, their daggers drawn.

Then Ophelia did something none of them expected her to do. She backed away from them and spoke the command to return her back to the edge of the forest where the staff were. Markus and Shana ran forward, their arms reaching out towards Ophelia.

The wyvern swung its tail and struck it against the three that were moving around. The tip of its tail struck Shana and sent her flying into a tree.

Markus ducked to avoid being hit. He reached out and grabbed a hold of Ophelia just as the red light surrounded her.

Dane watched as the two disappeared from sight. He turned his attention back to the wyvern and ran forward while it was momentarily distracted by tearing through the tents.

* * * *